I am the mother of three boys and one of the 25,000 Kirkland residents living within a half mile of the trail. If mass transit were to be added to the trail, I and many other people living close to the trail would no longer be able to access the trail through our backyards and side streets.

I do not want my tax money going to a project that will make the trail virtually unusable to my family. Bringing my boys on the trail is a big part of our lives. We bring microscopes to the trail and scoop samples out of puddles to study. We see how many bird sounds we can identify in one sitting. We pick blackberries in the summer and make jars of beautiful jam to share with neighbors and friends.

If mass transit were added I would need to load the boys in the car and drive to an access point, and realistically that is just not going to happen very often in our busy days.

In addition, I would not feel safe doing many of those activities with buses running past every two to three minutes. The trail in its current state is a great, safe place for the children of Kirkland to connect and get some fresh air and exercise.

It would be a tragedy to take this green space away from those who benefit the most from it. Keep buses where they belong on I-405.

Rachel Beto, Kirkland